A few years ago, two former Israeli Army buddies, now both professional guitarists based in Yonkers, N.Y., decided to join forces and explore their musical roots.

The result is Isra-Alien, an acoustic guitar duo that merges "Mediterranean-Gypsy music with Jazz mentality and rock attitude."

"That's how we describe what we do," said Oren Neiman, laughing, who plays a nylon string guitar, while his long-time good friend, Gilad Ben-Zvi, performs on steel strings.

They have been playing together since their mandatory service in the Israeli Army in the late 1990s -- they were both in the intelligence branch, Neiman explained. "And we have had this ongoing conversation: In an immigrant country that's only about 60 years old, can there be a unique Israeli sound? So we decided to look into the roots of Israeli music and see what inspires us."

The concert is being offered in conjunction with "To Honor My People," an exhibition of Judaic works by renowned American master Norman Gorbaty now at the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery (which will be open Sunday from noon through afternoon festivities).

Following the concert, a free public reception, which the duo will attend, will be offered in the Quick lobby to celebrate the center's 20th anniversary.

Neiman said their explorations have resulted in a "world" sound that's featured on their first CD, "Isra-Alien" (2009), which fuses a myriad of musical traditions: Greek, Balkan, Eastern European, Arab and Jewish/Klezmer.

As for the duo's bizarre name, Neiman said Isra-Alien is "a joke of sorts that works on various levels."

Neiman, who has lived here since 2001, explains that he has always been fluent in Hebrew as well as English because his mother was raised in Toronto, Canada, and passed along her "ease" with the language to her son.

However, "when Gilad came to the United States" in 2004, "he wasn't quite as comfortable with the language," Neiman recalled, laughing.

And so, whenever someone asked Ben-Zvi about his background, he'd say: `I'm Israelian' " -- not realizing that the term in English is "Israeli."

Although both studied classical music privately in Israel, Ben-Zvi eventually gravitated to rock bands (he's still in a few) and Neiman embraced jazz, receiving a bachelor's degree in jazz performance from the State University of New York at Purchase.

Their Sunday show, about 90 minutes long, will feature their original compositions and a few folk tunes. There will be "lots of improvisation and humor . . . lots of back-and-forth as we play off each other, as we try to antagonize and impress each other.

"Storytelling and cultural sharing are actually part of the tradition of (Israeli) army bands of the 1950s and '60s; they were the pop music of the time."

Their concerts, he said, "were like variety shows, with a lot of skits intertwined" with the music.

Although both also teach guitar, Neiman said the duo loves to compose and perform.

"It's so satisfying to create something together . . . and so satisfying to perform for audiences" that may not be very familiar with sounds from their homeland.